


Othrys

by Idran



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Planescape (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Angst, But not in the Planescape: Torment sense, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Just the painful kind, TW: Gendered slur, Torment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 02:58:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18651508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idran/pseuds/Idran
Summary: Adventurers are oft hardened enough to deal with the Lower Planes, even when new to the journey. What of someone without that background?





	Othrys

**Author's Note:**

> This time we've got a backstory fic for an OC of mine in some one-on-one RPs we've been doing on the planes. It's technically in the same canon as Avenging Broadshire, though only in an abstract sense; no actual overlap really (except in some thematic ways for later events). But it does make for the first glimpse of my perception of the oft-neglected psychological and metaphysical impact being on the planes can be, especially if you don't know what's happening to you.
> 
> If the tags don't make it obvious, warning that it gets dark.

Drifting up from a dream of fields and stars, Trea rolled onto her side, feeling a strange chill, an ache in her back. Confused, her eyes fluttered open as she peered about, pushing herself up to sitting. She'd fallen asleep in her bed, a small room in a small cabin on the edge of her village, not far from her parents' home, the home where she grew up. The midst of summer, a warm night; her window open, comforter eschewed. An exhausting day of marble sculpting, collapsing into bed almost as soon as she stepped in, without even bothering to change. Yet now...she found herself on hard ground. Solid stone, chilly and clammy, the scent of dust hanging in the air.

Scrambling to her feet, she stretched out her back, peering about in utter confusion. Darkness surrounding her, only the slightest hint of light to be seen. But it was something.

She stepped along, nearing that light, feeling a soft breeze flowing into her face as she followed the tunnel, trailing her hand along the wall. Something strange about the light, though; something that didn't seem right about it. It seemed off, not the warm glow she was used to. The light itself seemed as much a chill as the air. She narrowed her eyes, listening to...anything. No animals, though. Some quiet sounds that...might be insects? But unfamiliar ones.

Where was she? What did Jace _do_? She was certain this was his doing, that unnerving...nasty warlock of a man. Never leaving her alone, never letting her be. Day after day for _months_ , until she finally had had enough, and turned down his constant requests in the midst of the square, in the midst of all.

Did he somehow carry her here? Or...some sort of transportation magic? She would kill him when she returned. Or report him to the guard at least. How _dare_ he? Snorting, she swept her hair out of her face, wishing she had something to tie it back with.

She stumbled a bit, glad she fell asleep in the state she did. Wandering this tunnel barefoot in her sleepwear would be an utter nightmare. Grunting again at the thought, she flinched as her hand pressed into something soft, moving forward before she got a glimpse at what it might've been. Moss, that's all. She was certain.

Finally, the light shined bright as she rounded a curve in the tunnel, the wind blasting into her face. Wincing, she shielded her eyes, peering outside the cave. A vast, dead field of yellowed grass and gray dirt stretched beyond its entrance, the sky overhead a sickly, cloudless green. The only trees she could see were naught but dead trunks, bark dry and cracked. And far off in the sky...orbs. Orbs? Spheres, stretching away...what were those?

She shook, mouth agape as her head whipped back and forth. This...this wasn't any mortal land. She...she was...what did Jace do? _What did Jace do_?

Stepping out the cave, Trea stumbled forward, running her hands through her hair. Her chest threatened to burst with how hard her heart was beating, and she could hardly control her breath, panting for air as she tried — and failed — to process it all. She froze in place, unable to even think, before darting back into the tunnel and huddling into a heap, face buried in her knees, nearly passing out from her own breathing. Sitting frozen in terror for what felt like an eternity, shuddering and crying as she gasped and gasped. She felt sick to her stomach, but was too caught up in her own thoughts to even vomit, too unable to do anything but panic. Where in Aerdrie's name was she?

It wasn't until feeling pangs of hunger that she was shocked from her fear, pulling her face away with one last sob. Forcing herself to stand once more, she took one shaky step after another. Wherever this was, it had to have water, have something she could eat. She needed to focus on that. On survival.  Wherever she was, if she came here...then she could leave here. She could find her way home.

* * *

Trea pushed herself across the field for hours, following...what she thought to be a downward slope. If there was water here, it must be downhill. That's where water flows. And...animals gather around water. Plants. Something she could eat. That ran through her mind again and again as she walked, staring at the sky, unnerved by the light not changing a bit as time rolled on. At those massive spheres hanging in the sky, like boulders dangling on ropes above her, threatening every moment to collapse and crush her. At the lack of any familiar sounds, scents. At how dead everything about her was. Countless thoughts whirling about the edges of her mind, pushed out as best she could by an utter desire to survive..

She tripped, stumbling over a ridge in the ground and collapsing to her knees, just catching herself with her hands and scraping her palms against the rough earth. Cursing under her breath, watching droplets of blood bead from her hands and shaking them away. She'd be fine. She'd heal.

And ahead, a familiar sound. The rushing of water; quiet, but definite. Scrambling up, she began to run, heedless of the aching in her knees. Only a few hundred feet now, she knew it. One step after another, so close to what she needed.

Finally, it came into sight. A small river, the water a strange, filthy red as it poured over the roughest bed she'd ever seen. Shouldn't it have worn smooth by now? But those rocks were sharp as daggers. What kind of land was this?

Carefully, she lowered her hand in, scooping up as much as she could, gulping it down. She winced at the taste, metallic and acrid. But it was water. Whatever this land was, it was water. It satiated her.

She sat back on her heels, shuddering again, forcing her mind away as she wrapped her arms around herself. She had water. Now she needed food. She'd...she'd follow the river. This is where beasts would gather. She'd find something with time. One step after another. Just like sculpting. Small action after small action, eventually revealing a vision of truth.

Reaching into the water, she pulled free one of the countless razor-sharp stones, one sized well for her hands. One well-fit for once she finally found a beast. The stone heavy in her hand, but perfect, a natural weapon. As though it was meant for that. Strange, but she wasn't going to question it. Too much of a question. Too much thought about this land, about her being _in_ this land. Survival. That's all that mattered.

Suddenly, a sound. A snort ahead, behind a small boulder. No cover, but she...she didn't need it. She could do this. She'd never hunted before, but...but it was in her veins. She was an _elf_. The wild was _her_ domain. This was her heritage. She could do this.

She stepped quietly, easing around the stone, bit by bit. Cautious, the dry earth not making a sound beneath her feet. Stone gripped in shaky hand, ready to...ready to be thrust into the heart of the beast.

And beast it was as it finally came into sight. A boar, she thought, but a massive one. A vicious one. Its fur dark-black, its horns gnarled and twisted. Like none she'd ever seen. Boars were dangerous enough; she was hoping for a rabbit, a deer, not a boar. She froze, before steeling herself, taking a deep breath. The first creature she'd seen since...since she'd come here. She wasn't about to let it go free.

Hand clenched around her stone, she stepped closer, a foot away. Half a foot. Crouched low, ready to slash into its softer underside as it snorted and nosed into the dirt.

And then it looked up. Staring into her eyes with a malevolence she'd never before seen in any animal. An intelligent malevolence, the beast snorting once more. Letting out a sound that seemed almost sapient, almost a mocking chuckle. She fell back, collapsing onto her ass, trying to scramble away as it approached her. Teeth clenched as she gripped her only defense in both hands, shaking so bad she could hardly even point it at the _thing_.

It paced about, watching her. Licking at its snout hungrily, without a care. Knowing itself as superior to her. For a moment, her terror was fought back by pure rage — this _animal_ was _nothing_ compared to her! With a wild swing, she slashed hard, bringing forth the quietest of grunts. Its thick hide was cut, if not deeply, thick blood oozing out. The beast's arrogance faded to rage of its own; it howled and snarled before surging forward, head low.

Trea rolled away, but not quite quickly enough, still feeling its horn digging a furrow along her side. She stabbed forth as it ran past, her stone buried in its stomach, slicing along its length and taking the creature to its knees. It fell, tumbling over as its life faded away, Trea gripping her side with a strangled moan, forcing herself not to scream and attract something else. The beast's entrails spilled out into the ground, steaming and radiating a sulfurous scent that sickened her. But not so much as to abolish her hunger.

Shaking with adrenaline, she attacked the carcass, cutting away hide and exposing flesh that reeked as much as the boar's guts. Still, it was meat. She didn't need to cook it. Didn't need to prepare it. She only needed to eat. To staunch her hunger. She didn't know _why_ ; it hadn't even been half a day. She'd gone longer than that just from working. But...she'd slain this thing. She defeated it. And that meant...it was hers. It sickened her even further, and yet she couldn't stop, face smeared in blood.

Sated, she sat back, her mind coming back to her. She blinked, frozen, staring at her stained hands, struggling to understand what she'd just done. Her stomach lurched as she forced herself to keep it down; getting sick here would be the worst thing she could do. It took nearly all her strength to do so, leaning against the rock without even the strength to sit up herself. Tears began to roll from her eyes, leaving streaks in the crimson stains across her cheeks, as she forced her breathing under control. Whatever it was, it was over. It was done.

In the back of her mind, a quiet voice added: _And she'd won_.

* * *

Huddled against the boulder, Trea shook. She'd done her best to wash the dark blood clean, to pull herself away from the horror of what just happened. What was that? That wasn't her. Was it? She'd never felt anything like that before; it overwhelmed her, terrified her. It didn't feel as though it was something outside herself, and yet it didn't truly feel like it was her either. It was as though it was a side of her she'd never felt before. One that had lurked within herself, and was finally given bounds to be set free.

She loathed it, whatever it was.

Her eyes jumped to the still-steaming carcass lying in the ground beside her; inexplicably still warm as life, despite the time that had passed. How much time? She couldn't even tell; no sun, no clouds, no moons, nothing to give her any sense of the passage of time but for her own thoughts. And they were hardly trustworthy right now. An hour, perhaps? Maybe two?

She stared at the remains. At the yellowed fat and black bones still left. The thick hide that she could still hardly believe she'd cut through so easily. It hardly made any sense to her. It was too easy. And yet, it was what happened.

She looked again to the stone itself as well. still sticking into the ground where she'd dropped it in her horror, fallen point-first into the earth. Stained a deep crimson, the blood seemingly soaked into its surface.

Everything around her felt unreal. Felt wrong. Was it a nightmare? But she'd never had a nightmare stretch on this long. Nor one as coherent as all this. In what sort of nightmare would she have walked for hours and remembered every moment of it? Would she have spent so much time scrubbing her hands in the red river, scouring her skin and trying to make herself clean?

This was no nightmare.

"...I'm in hell," she whispered, her throat scratchy from sobbing. "I'm...I'm in hell. I...I must be. This...this is hell. Jace..." She chuckled in shock, her entire body shaking. "I told Jace to go to hell, and...and...oh Corellon, he sent me here..."

She wasn't sure if she was crying or laughing as she fell back against the rock, staring up into the bilious sky. A cold wind blew around her, raising goosebumps on her skin, and reminding her of the wound still in her side. No longer bleeding, at least. Shallower than she'd feared at first. The beast didn't pierce her flesh, it merely grazed through a layer or two of skin. Painful, but not deadly. It ought be bandaged, but that wasn't an option. With luck, her torn, bloodied blouse pressing against the wound would be protection enough. Even washing it out seemed a risk; drinking it was risk enough, but what kinds of unearthly illnesses might she contract if she did that?

She couldn't stay here. She had to keep moving. Had to...had to find...something. She didn't know what, but sitting here would be as much as giving up on her life.

Taking up the stone, she went back to the carcass. She'd learned enough to know that she ought...she ought get as much from this as she could. If she was to survive, she would need more than just food and water.

Slicing at the beast's remains, she took strips of hide. Long strings of sinew. Small bones of various sizes. Some meat. And...and the bladder, for a...a satchel. To keep it all. Trying to call back half-remembered survival lessons to mind, she emptied and rinsed it in the river, cleaning it as best as she could manage before stowing what she'd gathered. Slicing a strip off the hem of her blouse, she knotted it around the...bag, and looped it around her shoulder. Her hands stained again, but at least not with such... _savagery_ this time.

Hissing, ignoring her side, she slowly pressed forward, following the river upstream. Eyes open for any other beasts about, any people, any...anything. Something. One step, after another, after another.

* * *

It had been days. She thought. The sky darkened and lightened, but it didn't seem...right. The time between day and night didn't feel right. Was it her? Time was still so uncertain, perhaps it was her.

She stopped now and then when she had to. Whenever the sky turned dark, she took it as a sign to rest. To sit and drink. Occupying herself by carving at the bones she'd captured, trying to form basic tools. Needles, awls, small blades. Working the sinew into threads and letting it dry. Doing what she could to keep herself busy, keep her mind clear. Working with her hands always did that for her. Allowed her to lose herself, whatever else might be happening in her life. Sculpting was always a joy to her, a way to let her act without thinking. Just letting everything flow past. And here as always, it gave her some respite at nights, before falling into fitful, terrified sleep, jumping awake at nothing and certain that some other creature would be there, waiting to kill her.

She wished she'd had...a journal. Some parchment. Something to put her thoughts down. Something to let her prove to herself that this was all real. But her work would do that in at least some small way. So long as she still had what she made, she knew it wasn't just a figment of her mind. Gripping the satchel in her hand, she felt its contents through the flesh. Reminding herself. Counting each off in her mind one by one. So focused on keeping herself sane, she almost missed the figure in the distance, standing shadowed against the horizon.

Another person? If this was hell...it stood to reason there'd be others here. Part of her cowered at the idea of facing someone who truly deserved to be here, but another part, a more insistent part, pushed at her. She'd never gone so long without seeing another before, and the loneliness was starting to eat at her mind. She _had_ to see someone else.

_And prove her strength_.

Quickening her pace, she left the river's edge, pushing on towards the horizon. No word yet; were it home, she'd be calling out by now, but she still had enough sense about her to not announce herself to a stranger _here_. Keeping herself crouched; there was no cover, but if she was lucky, maybe they just wouldn't notice her.

She grew near enough to make out details. But...what was it? It looked elven-shaped, but were those horns? And it seemed almost impossibly tall, but perhaps that was mere distance. Still, her heart began to race as she approached, wondering more and more if this was a smart idea. She froze, second thoughts pushing themselves forward, drowning out all else. Tempted to turn back the way she came, head back to the river and just ignore whoever this was.

And they turned.

And they spotted her.

And even from this distance, she could tell: they grinned.

Taking a slow step backwards, she gripped her satchel tight, forcing her hands not to shake as the fear of the hunted began to grip her heart. Her breath ragged, she forced herself to meet the figure's eyes for a moment, intent on not showing her inner terror as they began to stride towards her. Reaching into her satchel, she gripped her stone, all her willpower spent on not bowing to the inner prey within her demanding she run. Not approaching them, but neither did she turn away.

Within minutes — it seemed too short for the distance, though perhaps their speed was simply that great — the figure was upon her. Skin a pale, icy blue; eyes a sharp silver, glittering like true metal; their talons easily as sharp as her own weapon. Their form covered in patchwork leather; well-crafted, but made of the hides of at least a dozen beasts. Their grin never fading, baring to her a set of jagged fangs.

They barked to her in sharp common, a low growl underlying their words. "And what's this? Got a stray kit lost and scared, huh? My lucky day; might make some money on the market."

Though somewhat shocked to hear Common in hell, Trea held herself straight and unbending, not cowering an inch from this eight-foot-tall fiend of a person. "I'm n-not one to sell, brute. I-"

Before she could say more, the fiend backhanded her across the jaw, sending her tumbling to the ground. She could feel a deep bruise already rising, feeling a bit thankful that they didn't dislocate it. Still, the pain was sharp and sudden as the surprise of it, and it was all she could do not to go beyond tearing up.

"Didn't say you could speak, bint." Gripping her hair, they yanked her back to standing; she groaned deep in her throat from the pain in her scalp, but refused to give them the satisfaction of more. "Stupid as you are ugly, looks like. Gonna have to tell whoever buys you that you'll need special training."

Trea didn't say a word, glaring to them, breathing slow and hard.

"Not so stupid you can't learn, at least." They gripped under her chin, inspecting her like a horse. Pressing against her throat enough that she could hardly do more than wheeze, talons digging sharp marks along her jawline. "And who knows? Sometimes a dumb whore gets even more jink than a slave." Letting her go, they laughed cruelly as Trea rubbed at her throat. "Ain't that right, Ears? You look like someone what knows something about whoring."

She shuddered as she turned red, unsure if it was from rage or fear. Both, she thought, her mind torn in two, feeling that same predatory voice screaming in her mind's ear. Tears welled as she faced this...this monster, for that's all they were. No person, nothing more than just another beast, like the boar. All were all beasts in this realm, weren't they?

They gripped her left ear hard, all but crushing it as they pulled it hard enough to make her scream. "I asked you a question, Ears. You're not ignoring me, a-"

Trea jammed her stone point into their arm, the tip breaking off in their bone, bringing a scream of their own out. As they reared back, Trea ran, scrambling away as quick as she could to the closest possible safety she could spot; in the distance, jagged stones bigger than a man thrust from the soil, cracks spreading about from their bases. Were they there before? Did it matter? It was somewhere to hide either way.

They howled after her, "get back here, cunt!" Chasing after her, but nowhere near as quick. If she had only ran to begin with, this might've been avoided, but...

She darted ahead, weaving between spire after spire, careful about the broken stone underfoot. As she passed one, she spied a gap in the earth at its base. In the moments she was out of their sight, she dove, skittering underground on all fours as she tried to get herself as deep as possible. Even if they did see her, they couldn't fit here. They wouldn't get her.

It was a tight burrow, a warren just barely tall enough for her if she huddled. Pulling herself small, she held back the sobs welling up in her throat, doing her best to keep silent but unable to hold it all in. She stared up at the exit, feeling dirt drop onto her face from the heavy footsteps above and flinching from each shower, biting her cheek hard enough to taste metal just to stop from making any noise.

A shadow fell over the entrance as the beast shouted out above ground, "where are you, you dumb bitch?"

It began to fade, as Trea whimpered in relief. Then it stopped, and Trea knew in her heart that she'd been found, terrified for her life. Seconds ticked by, and for a moment she entertained the thought that perhaps she was wrong.

They thrust their arm into the hole, and Trea screamed, pressing her back harder against the wall as she stabbed out with her stone again and again and again. Most of her wild swings missed, but she left enough strikes in the beast's hand that she could see blood.

They pushed their arm deeper, swiping at her, grabbing for her. And as Trea tried to get further and further away from them, the earth behind her back crumbled, and she fell back with a scream into the deep darkness. Sight lost to her, sound dominated only by her own voice, as she fell for what seemed nearly an eternity.

Her breath was knocked out of her as she slammed into unseen water, the underground lake soon enwrapping her in its frigid grip. It was all she could do to keep herself above water, but she couldn't tread forever. Picking a direction, she swam, letting the activity distract her from her situation, and reveling in her erstwhile escape. She hadn't swum since she was 20, still in children's education, but fighting for ones life seemed to help such lessons better return to mind; something she's found increasingly often these last days.

She had no clue how long it took, but eventually she struck land; literally so, her hand hitting a sharp stone edge as it came down in a stroke, leaving a slim slice in her palm. Pulling herself up, she collapsed exhausted on the hard stone, overwhelmed. Before long, her breath rushed faster than she could control it as she curled in a fetal position in this pitch blackness, Solonor knew how deep below ground. Completely taken by panic, her tears flowed on their own accord, her innermost feelings bursting out from the dam she'd built around her mind.

Before long, Trea passed out, a quiet part of her mind thankful for it in her last conscious moments; glad to, for a time, put her surroundings behind her.

* * *

Time passed on endlessly in the dark depths of the caverns. Weeks, maybe, or even months; Trea had long since lost any sense of time. No sign of light since she'd landed, stumbling forward and navigating by touch and sound alone. With every passing moment, she was more and more unsure if she'd ever seen anything. If she'd ever been anything else. Her past seemed more dreamlike every time she awoke, more distant from her, more foreign.

Even thought began to fail her, as her focus grew more and more on simply surviving. Little more than a beast now herself as she wandered blindly from tunnel to tunnel. Hunting small animals she couldn't identify, that felt wrong by touch, but whose meat and blood sustained her enough to press on. Her mind focused on naught but the simple task of survival; walk, hunt, sleep. At times, even her name escaped her, but she clung at least to it, to the proof that there was a time before all this. She did have a life, even if it came to her rarely now. Nearly a mantra, muttered under her breath whenever she could: She was Trealune of Lilandra, daughter of...of Cherlantra and Vlestre, born under...under the sign and blessing of Aerdrie Faenya. She had to cling to that.

Yet even that was set aside more and more as she wandered. Meals were scant at first, her attempts at hunting failures more often than not. But the more she tried, the more naturally it seemed to come. The more she fit into the role she'd been thrown into. Words absent from her thoughts, her mind blank of words as she scrambled from tunnel to tunnel, even her mutterings to herself cast to the wayside.

She was a beast.

In the light, she was prey, fodder for the strong. But here she was a predator, here she ruled over the lesser beasts.

This is where she ought remain.

All facts that she now knew in her heart, even if she had no conscious sense of it. Hell had judged her, and assigned her the role that truly defined who she ought to be. A hunter in the dark, feeding on the least and cowering from the truly strong. Even her dreams began to capture this truth; she was nothing more than an animal within them more and more, less and less aware of the transition from dream to reality when she awoke.

And every time she slept, her name, her family, it all faded further and further from her. Yet she gripped hard to it all in those increasingly rare moments when her mind returned to her. Refusing to let it go, whatever her heart told her.

* * *

The first glimmer of light shocked her. Scared her, even. She wasn't sure what it was, so long since she'd used her sight. She'd long since learned to ignore what hallucinations came from the darkness, but this seemed different. It flickered and danced off the...grey wall. Grey. She remembered grey.

Inching forward, curiosity warred with fear in her heart as she rounded the tunnel, lurking near the ground. It was...a flame. She remembered flames too. They were...warm. Inviting. They repelled the dark.

...but she was of the dark. Then...she should stay away from it. But it was so alluring...

She was frozen, torn. And even more so as she heard the first words she'd heard since she...

Memories flashed by as she pulled back into the shadows, shaking and watching as two figures settled around the flame. Canting her head, crouched low as they talked to one another. Both scaled; unfamiliar species, their language unintelligible, but definitely conversing with one another. They seemed close, a fact that brought another distant ache to her heart. Not just the pain of old memories, but an anger, an envy at what she no longer had. Her hands gripped at the ground, ragged nails scratching lightly against the hard stone. Her breath caught as one sat beside the other, resting their head on the other's shoulder; she let out a quiet, shuddering moan of pain, of loss, drawing their attention, and she froze in place as their eyes met hers.

One of them stood slowly, speaking in their unfamiliar sibilant language, their tone sharp but quiet. Her mouth moved as she searched for words, but they failed her. She could only let out quiet, terrified sounds, easing back away as the figure approached. They stopped, as did she; crouching, they slowly held out...something. Her stomach ached at the sweet, familiar scent. She eased forward cautiously, almost feline in her movements as she clambered nearer and nearer. Their voice was quiet, soothing, even if she had no idea what was being said.

Her breath shuddered as she approached within arm's length; she tensed, fear still bubbling before she snatched the offering, pushing it into her mouth.

...fruit. It was fruit. She...she remembered fruit. Images flickered across her mind as tears began to well in her eyes, a moment of self-realization scratching at her innermost thoughts.

But it all shattered as the figure touched her shoulder.

She shrieked loud as a banshee, scrambling back into the dark, fear gripping her. Not just fear of the figures, of what they might do with her, but fear of her state. Of who she'd become. What she'd become.

Their voices echoed behind her, but this was her domain. She knew the tunnels better than them, even without sight. Following twists and turns, too quick for them to have even the slightest chance of following her. Panting, pressing herself into the stone, her mind shattered. Beyond terror, beyond confusion. Staying there for hours as she slowly pulled together her shards.

"...Trealune." Her throat itched, scratchy from lack of use, her voice little more than a whisper. Unfamiliar to her own ears.

"I...I'm Trealune. I am Trealune. I'm not...not a beast. I'm an elf." She gripped her arms, nails pressing sharp into her skin through the tears in her blouse as her mind cast back to her family, her homeland. Her whisper quavered as she rubbed at her eyes, hardly believing the words even as she spoke them.

"...Mother...Father...I miss you. I'm...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Rocking back and forth, she kept talking, worried what might happen if she stopped. Where she might fall back to. "I should've listened...I should've learned...I can't do this. I can't. I'm not strong, I don't...I just can't. It's too much. The gods can't even see me from here...I'm so lost, and there's...there's no one. There's just no one."

She stared into the dark, laughing at herself as she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her mind flashed back to her mother's stories when she was a child. Ones that used to comfort her on dark nights, when her nightmares used to torment her. Imagining herself as the girl outwitting the shadow beasts of the underground, being rescued from the endless maze of the forest by the brave prince, facing off against the master of the vampires with naught but a sharp stick. It seemed foolish now to her, cursed as she was to this hellish realm. But that child was still there in her mind. And thinking back on those old stories, if nothing else, comforted that young part of her. The part that still hoped. That still thought there may be some chance to break free.

A foolish part, but one she was grateful hadn't yet left her along with the rest of her sanity.

 


End file.
